The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (UPTO) has
rejected an NTP patent that is part of the ongoing legal spat between
the company and Research in Motion. NTP contends that RIM"s popular
BlackBerry wireless device infringes five of its patents. The "non-final"
action from the Patent Office was issued Wednesday and although NTP may
respond to that preliminary decision, the UPTO said in a document
posted on its Web site that it expects the next step on its part will
be to issue a final action. The patent in question, 6,067,451, involves
mobile electronic-mail systems and was issued in 2000.
RIM
requested re-examinations of the patents involved in its dispute with
NTP, which is a patent-holding company based in Virginia. So far, the
UPTO has rejected all of the patent claims in the case, some of which
are still pending final action. The latest action occurred the same day
that U.S. District Court Judge James Spencer ruled that RIM and NTP do
not have a valid settlement agreement and that the court would not hold
up the case while patents are being re-examined. While the UPTO
decision is dated Wednesday, it apparently was not publicly available
until the following day at the agency"s Web site.